The story behind the co-opting of 'Come and Take It'

At Houston Astros games this year Orbit, the team's alien mascot, waves a flag with a baseball and an Astros logo, not unlike the Gonzales flag, to rally fans and the team at Minute Maid Park. Lord knows we needed it this season at times.

At Houston Astros games this year Orbit, the team's alien mascot, waves a flag with a baseball and an Astros logo, not unlike the Gonzales flag, to rally fans and the team at Minute Maid Park. Lord knows we

At Houston Astros games this year Orbit, the team's alien mascot, waves a flag with a baseball and an Astros logo, not unlike the Gonzales flag, to rally fans and the team at Minute Maid Park. Lord knows we needed it this season at times.

At Houston Astros games this year Orbit, the team's alien mascot, waves a flag with a baseball and an Astros logo, not unlike the Gonzales flag, to rally fans and the team at Minute Maid Park. Lord knows we

Today is the 180th anniversary of the Battle of Gonzales, which marked the first military fight of the Texas Revolution.

The famous flag from that Gonzales clash has become a hallmark of Texas pride, with its "Come And Take It" message one of Texas' most-defining. It is the first flag used in the Texas Revolution and close to 200 years later it shows no signs of going away.

It can be seen on shirts, neckties, underwear, license plates, album covers, food trucks, murals, hats, koozies, and fraternity walls, even tattooed into the skin of true blue Texans.

The phrase "Come and Take It" dates back to King Leonidas I defying the Persian army to take his army's weapons with the phrase "Molon labe" at the Battle of Thermopylae.

The Gonzales flag itself was created by Sarah Seely DeWitt and her daughter, Evaline, from Noami DeWitt's wedding dress, an interesting tidbit that makes its later appropriation somewhat ironic.

The Battle of Gonzales centered on American colonists in that town who were refusing to give back a cannon (the one on the flag) back to Mexican soldiers that they had received in 1831 to fend off Natives in the area. They wanted it now to defend themselves from Mexican General Antonio López de Santa Anna's increasingly aggressive actions against the colonists. As the Texas State Historical Association notes, the battle was actually more of skirmish, but it did mark a definitive break in relations between the Mexicans and the colonists. Less than a year later Texas would be its own republic.

"Come and Take It" also was used in the American Revolution when Col. John McIntosh told British brass the same thing as they attempted to overtake Fort Morris in Georgia on November 25, 1778. The fort would later fall but the fight would motivate thousands to come.

It has come to symbolize defiance against someone or something looking to grind you down or deprive you of a right or privilege.

In 2013 it was co-opted not only by Astrodome preservationists, but also the women's reproductive rights movement. You might remember the image of a defiant uterus replacing the famous cannon. Gun rights advocates have also replaced the cannon with a duded out M-4 too. You can find variations on the design at most gun shows. Barbecue fiends can purchase a "Come and Brisket" shirt on their next barbecue joint crawl too. It comes in blue and red (the blue is best for concealing grease and sauce stains).

The Duzy Oliver Coffee Roasting Company in Gonzales has Come And Take It coffee, if you need to be bright-eyed and bushy-tailed to take on the day.

The disposition of the cannon immortalized on the flag has been disputed. Some believe Mexican General Antonio López de Santa Anna's troops melted it down along with other weaponry after they seized it. You can see replicas of the flag all over Texas. that is if you don't already have one above your mantel in your living room like any self-respecting Texan.